Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Literal


(A) “I, Facundo Holzmeister, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

(B) My Mentor, Oscar Holzmeister, helped me complete my independent component 2.

(C) Independent Digital Spreadsheet link is under the Mentorship Log link.

(D) I have dedicated 30 hours of my mentorship to my independent component 2. I believe that I have gained more knowledge about Radio Based Stations than I did when I completed my first independent component. I assisted my mentor with troubleshooting RBS around many different cities. I have experienced hardware issues, software issues, data issues, and power issues. I have learned to analyze cables and check if they are in good condition, replace damaged hardware within the internal and external components of the station, and have learned to upgrade the software or install new software into the RBS remotely.

Interpretative

Testing the signal speed for a New RBS just recently installed.

Checking a set cables to an antennae
to see if it's receiving proper power.

The radios to a Radio Base Station that we had to analyze
and upgrade the software to because it was out of date.

Power problem with the AC Unit, due to someone standing
on this cable and tearing it apart.

My mentor trying to access the key for the
apartment building because the RBS was in the basement of
this building.

Updating the software within the RBS.

This program shows us what problems their are in an RBS,
and in this RBS their was three hardware problems.

The location to an RBS was within these walls.

The antennae to an RBS was located within this building.

Applied

During my experience of my independent component 2 I have learned much more about RBS and all of the different problems that an RBS can have. I gained alot of experience during a training that I had to do with my mentor because I had been taught by one of T-Mobile's top engineers, and he explained how an RBS works, the entire spectrum of T-Mobiles network and issues within the RBS that occur every so often, such as software and hardware issues. From this I knew how to find more research on my topic, and how to better answer my EQ with my second and third answer. I also had to install new software to an RBS that was just built into the area, with the help of my mentor and from this I had come up with my third answer. I understand how the cellular network fully works and how I can improve my research.

Independent Component 1

Literal

(A) I, Facundo Holzmeister, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(B) My source that helped me complete the independent component was my mentor, Oscar Holzmeister. I assisted him with troubleshooting the cellular coverage in different cities. 

(C) Independent Digital Spreadsheet link is under the Mentorship Log link.

(D) During my 31 hours of mentorship dedicated to the independent component 1, I assisted my mentor with operating and maintaining a variety of Radio Base Stations (RBS) around different cities. Overtime, I have learned that most of these Stations fail to transmit and receive communications due to damaged equipment within the RBS. The most common issues being, a power source issue, and a hardware or software issue, and I have been exposed to each of this problems as well as some unique problems. 

Interpretive

All of the work that I have been doing so far, has assisted me with my component. Like I said before, in my Literal D answer, I assisted my mentor by troubleshooting Radio Base Stations that had damaged equipment and caused issues in the cellular network. Being exposed and demonstrated how to fix these issues with the right tools, I had a confident and accurate answer towards my Essential Question (EQ) and 3 possible answers for my final presentation. For example, my EQ was, "How can an RF Field Engineer best troubleshoot cellular coverage in a city?" and my answer one was "Identify whether a power outage is an external or internal issue in a Radio Base Station." I came up with this answer through my mentorship experience. On November 18, I was first exposed to a power issue, more specifically an external power source issue, and the power wasn't working within the RBS due to the station being vandalized, meaning that the power cables from the main power source had been completely stolen. 

My mentor determining which equipment
 within the power panel and RBS weren't receiving power. 

Vandalized Equipment, or stolen cables
within the power source

My next exposure was on December 27, where the main power source to an RBS had been completely ran over by a vehicle. In this situation, I discovered that we needed to contact a General Contractor to also help us replace this source of equipment just because it was so out of hand. I also learned how to check for the power source and how a power generator works. 

Main Power Source that got ran over by a car.

Testing whether the Power Source Cables
were hot, and they were at 250 volts.

Experts had to remove the hot cables
from the sidewalk for safety reasons.

Those are just two examples that helped me best with my components. There were many more power issues that I had to deal with throughout my mentorship such as on December 28, and December 31. There were also hardware issues where I had to replace sets of equipment and transmitters within a Radio Base Station which will assist me in my upcoming presentation and my research as well.

Removing a Damaged equipment within an RBS

The damaged radio we replaced

Me logging the site details

If you need more proof of my 30 hours of work, took pictures every single time I did mentorship. I uploaded the on dropbox which you can check them out Pixtures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rrfgvh06kajbjx3/Nauhx8lvGu

Applied

Well I pretty much answered this question above, but like I said before being exposed to different types of issues within a RBS had most definitely helped me figure out different answers to my EQ. In my 30 minute presentation I mostly focused on a power issue within an RBS, because I had found through my mentorship experience that most of the common issues within an RBS was a power issue. This also helped stabilize my foundation for my senior topic, because I now know all of the issues within a RBS, I know how to troubleshoot each one and know the very basics of how everything works within an RBS. For example, one of the experiences that really allowed me to learn all about my foundation towards RF Field Engineer, was on September 10 when I assisted my mentor in installing a software that allowed the RBS to run and function. This 4 hour experience showed me what how the equipment's functioned, the software and what happens when their is an issue within the cellular network in a city. 

The RBS with the Radios, Transmitters, and Receivers. 

The RBS was located behind the LA Fair Plex.

Installing the software to the RBS.